Bouncer vs Swing

[ALew15]

Just that basically. Due in March and wondering what's best.

I have always used a bouncer but I am curious to people that have tried both and what they suggest is best!

@ALew15
Actually you may find that both are useful to have. We found that the swing is better for an immobile infant and the bouncer was better when DC could actually moveflap around a bit. We used the swing immediately after coming home from hospital. The back and forth motion was very soothing for the infant stage. As my DC got older he was very active and almost turned himself out of the swing because he grabbed onto one of the support legs as he was swinging by. 😂..He was quite the little cheeky monkey even as an infant!
I'm not quite sure as to what kind of bouncer you have in mind, but since we had just about every baby apparatus known to modern man, I'll tell you about the ones we had that are for different stages.
We found the bouncer that you put an infant in whilst they are lying down wasn't that useful...we had one of those that had 'ROO on the end of the name...the motions it provided just didn't seem to be very soothing for our little man and it was a bit noisy and expensive. It sounds amazing in the adverts...you can download or attach your music to it so LO can listen to tunes and it has several modes of movement simulation. ( we never even had the time to use that feature!)
There is a bouncer that you lay infant in and if you wiggle it or they move a bit, it bounces, but this one wasn't very helpful either.
But either one of is useful if you just need to put your LO down for awhile.
Now on to the proper bouncer that can be used at around 5 to 6 months( when LO starts to be able to sit up a bit). We found that our little guy really liked to kick his legs at this age. When we tried the proper bouncer, he was in heaven! Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy until he expended lots of bound up energy and tired himself out. We have so many videos of him having such a fabulous time whilst bouncing and giggling. This kind also has lots of different toys attached for baby's entertainment. We used this bouncer for about 6 months. Very good investment!
We were very fortunate that we were able to either borrow or buy all of this baby equipment second hand. We got it for pennies on the dollar and then turned around and resold it or passed it on to the next family.
Also try charity shops.

Here's the thing, OP...you never know which piece of equipment LO is going to enjoy. Welcome to parenthood! That's why it's more economical to borrow or buy secondhand. Also, some of this equipment is gigantic and you might find that it is taking over all your floor space.
I wish you and your LO all the best!

We found the swing to be useless - babies didn’t enjoy it at all. However a standard bouncer chair (they usually come with a vibrate thing on the front) was incredibly helpful- we used our feet to bounce baby and he found it very soothing. It often calmed him if he was grumpy/tired. Then it became helpful during weaning too.

Had both. 3 DC preferred bouncer 1 DC preferred swing so depends on the child.

I agree with the person above it's been a while since I've had a newborn back in 2012! (Baby no2 due august!) but when my son was newborn the swing was perfect for him and as he got older he loved the bouncer. Then went onto a jumperoo! Xx

DS hated both! Neither got used and ended up being sold on practically brand new.
This time round I'm buying barely anything and saving money for what he'll need rather than what I thought I needed as a FTM (believing everything I read about needing everything under the sun and an extra kitchen sink)!!

DS loved his bouncer....we've kept it for the new baby, and also bought a second hand swing from FB Marketplace. Wanted an extra option with having a toddler to look after too!

A mat on the floor will do you just fine unless you have other DC (and given the question I'm assuming you don't).

Neither of my 2 would tolerate a bouncer or a swing for more than about 30 seconds. They we're close together so I didn't get rid of stuff between them. I'm now due dc3 and not buying anything like that (though I am wondering how I will prevent my 2 and 4 year olds from trampling the new baby